To Build of Shattered Pieces
by Chelsea Deanne
Summary: A collection of linked oneshots. Be prepared to love, hate, and flip back through your manga.
1. My Albatross

**My Albatross**

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It sits in the palm of my hand, the cold seeping from the metal into my skin.

Oh, how innocent it looks to those who don't know. Just a piece of jewellery, casually worn.

My sin.

The Albatross around my neck.

They could never know, and I would never tell them, of the anguish reflected in the metal's dull surface.

My mother, eyes long since run out of tears, sobbing quietly. My father, unable to meet my gaze, asking how everything went so wrong. Two long years of silence, as they waited for a call that never came.

The chain makes a light clinking sound as I draw it around my neck.

The sound of a hospital bed being rushed down the corridor. Sitting in a hard plastic chair, waiting for them to come. Too bright. Too clean. Too _normal_. It shouldn't be this normal. Not anymore. Not after what I've done.

The red stone catches the light, glaring at me from the mirror.

I once had another stone, purplish blue, that soothed my childhood pains. Though I still depended on it, needed it, I have never regretted giving it to her, the girl who lived her emotions. She named it Corn.

This stone is not Corn. It does not comfort me, it accuses.

A dark street. Bodies on the ground. Blood, not mine, dripping from my clenched fist.

Blood, reflected now in the mirror.

It will never wash off.

She carries Corn now, treasures it, but it used to belong to me. I gave it to her the day of our parting, when I thought I'd never feel her warm magic again.

This stone, this eye, used to belong to _him_. I took it from him the day everything went so terribly wrong, when my world shattered beyond repair. I brought it with me when I followed the President to Japan, escaping the remnants of my former life before I was completely destroyed. I never glanced back.

I have no right to be happy.

I hate it.

Yet every day, I fasten it around my neck. And every day, people think how pretty it is. My penance.

Is it my imagination? Does the metal seem a bit warmer now? The stone's light a bit softer?

Perhaps it's that the warm magic I touched long ago is back, fluttering around my fingers once more. I must never allow myself to grab it, possess it, that would only stain it with my darkness. But would it be so horrible to allow myself to brush against it? Just enough to warm my hands?

Maybe the President's right. Maybe it _is_ okay if I begin to forgive myself.

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Author's note:

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The necklace. Ren's painful past. What if the two were horribly entwined?

Wow, what a strange story I've written, and I've written some doozeys in the past. So let me explain what I'm talking about.

The necklace. Two clasps attached to a ring with a stone hanging beneath it. Has anyone else noticed that every time Ren wears an open-necked outfit of his own choice (not part of a photo shoot or something worn on set) he always wears the same necklace? It first appeared in volume 2, has been in every volume since, got both covers of volume 6 (where you can see red), and was even recreated on one of Kyoko's dolls (after the Tsukimori arc). Ren is uber rich, and wouldn't be wearing the same thing over and over due to lack of options. Therefore, the necklace _must_ be important. But it wasn't always so. In every faceless picture of boy Corn, his neck is bare.

Ren's past. Nakamura keeps hinting of something terrible, something far worse than Kyoko's ever experienced, something so bad that only his parents and the President know the details. That's why I think the necklace represents something bad. And before you ask, I have no idea about the previous owner I concocted, or even what happened. I just feel that Ren wouldn't have purchased something so meaningful, so it had to have belonged to someone before. And I don't think it belonged to a girl. It's not really the right style, and if there was a girl at the root of this mysterious incident of his past, he wouldn't be able to compliment (i.e. unintentionally flirt with) girls so easily. Especially if this incident is something he can't forgive himself for, as the President says.

Does everyone know what I mean by the Albatross? There's this famous old novel-length English poem _The Mariner_ about a man on a sailing ship. One day he sees an albatross flying around and, for no real reason, he shoots it. He then feels so consumed with guilt he takes the dead bird (about the size of a large turkey with a 6 foot wingspan) and hangs it from his own neck. He then wears the bird, day in and day out, rope biting into the back of his neck from the weight, until it rots. He does this as penance for a sin he thinks he has committed by wrongly ending a life. So the idea of carrying an albatross around your neck has come to mean carrying a heavy burden or sin in a way that shows you regret what you did. And while we're talking old references the blood that will never wash off is from Shakespeare's _MacBeth_, where Lady MacBeth kills her husband's rival in cold blood then drives herself insane trying to wash the blood off her hands. I'm not sure how much of this applies to Ren, but it sure would explain Reino's violent reaction to his touch.

Well, that's enough of my ramblings. Now I bet a fair few of you are going to flip through the manga you thought you'd read, and begin to believe me about the necklace.

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Author's note II:

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January, 2012. As the manga has progressed, and we find new things, I feel I need to add this addendum. Before anyone comments I'm wrong because of a watch, remember that this was first written October 2008. In other words, over twenty chapters before the whole Cain Heel arc even begins! Nearly fifty before they focus on the watch. And so I wondered, should I change this? Scrap it? Heck no! Imagination is the whole point of fanfiction. It stays in original form. Besides, I still think the necklace is important.


	2. Lancelot

**Lancelot**

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"Stay away from her."

Ren just cocked an eyebrow, looking over the rim of his glass at the angry musician.

"And just who am I to stay away from?"

"You know damn well who, so don't play games with me." Sho growled, his expression turning thunderous. "I don't want you anywhere near Kyoko, got it?"

"Watch your expression, there are others around." Ren chided, gentlemanly smile fully in place.

The two had somehow been invited to the same premiere, which of course meant they were both at the same after party. And though neither had actively called the other out, they had both gravitated to the same secluded corner of the party. To all the world, or at least to the press haunting the room, they looked like they just happened to be standing side by side, leaning against the wall, sipping their drinks. Nothing important happening there.

"But since you brought up the topic of Kyoko," Ren enjoyed the angry flinch Sho couldn't fully hide as he said her name "I'd like to point out that you have no say in how she lives her life. At least, not anymore."

"She's always done what I tell her to" Sho stated, his best version of a calm mask in place as he stared out at the crowd. It wouldn't do to have people think he was holding a conversation with _Tsuraga Ren_ of all people. "And why wouldn't she? I've known her since we were both kids, so of course I know her better than anyone." He smirked triumphantly.

"You may have known her the longest, but I doubt you know her the best." Ren countered "In fact, I wonder if you ever knew her at all."

Sho was gripping his glass so hard in anger his knuckles were turning white. "And what," he bit out "makes you think that _you_ could know more than _me_?"

"Because I know the reason Kyoko didn't have any friends at school in Kyoto."

Sho snorted. "Girls didn't like her, simple as that."

"And yet, since coming to Tokyo she not only manages to get along with her female co-workers, but she's managed to find her first female best friend and adopt a little sister." Ren watched Sho's face darken before abruptly switching topics. "Kyoko stopped crying in front of you when she was six, right? Not just cried less, but completely stopped as if someone had flipped a switch? Now I'm given to believe that her life didn't suddenly get better, so why would she suddenly stop like that?"

"She didn't want to trouble me..." Sho mumbled, then cursed silently. He hadn't meant to say that!

"As I suspected." Ren smirked. The conversation was going just the way he wanted it to. "But of course there was no way she was hiding other things from you. Like the fact that she was being bullied by the girls at school."

Sho's head whipped around to stare at Ren. "Why..."

"Because you made her a target." Ren stated calmly, taking another sip of his drink. "You started gathering fans when you were young, but you consistently treated Kyoko different from any of the other girls at school. More familiar. It made them jealous of her." he glanced over at Sho "By now you should have some understanding of how fans behave. Usually they're content to watch from a distance, but if there's someone noticeably closer to the object of their affections, they won't hesitate to attack."

Sho was staring intently into his glass, replaying memories. Kyoko, eating lunch alone at school. Kyoko, doing group projects alone because no-one wanted to work with her. Kyoko, smiling at him when he asked her why she didn't hang out with the other girls. _I don't need anyone else as long as I have you, Sho!_

"Of course," Ren continued "she didn't want to _trouble_ you." He waited a moment for that to register before commencing his next angle of attack. "I've often wondered if the reason she was so attached to you," he refused to say _loved_ "was simply due to lack of options."

"That's not true!" Sho snapped, seemingly to have forgotten the presence of reporters. "She's always, _always_ called me her prince!"

"And yet you failed utterly at the only two jobs a prince has." He raised an eyebrow at Sho's blank look. "Come now, after spending so much time with a girl who lives immersed in fairy tales, you must of learned _something_."

"...to love her..." he mumbled, then stronger "To love her. Really, she is just a silly girl who only ever thinks of love."

"No, no, that's the second job." Ren chided with the air of a teacher correcting his student. "Think back to every prince or knight in the fairy tales Kyoko loved. Other than love her, what was the one thing did for the damsel?"

Ren leaned back against the wall and watched the singer stare into his glass, as if the answers were written in code on the ice cubes. He waved away a waiter looking to refill their drinks, and carefully avoided eye contact with anyone who may be angling for an interview. And still, Sho stared silently into his nearly empty glass.

"...rescue her..."

"Exactly." Ren answered, as if there had been no pause in their conversation. "Do you honestly think she liked her life? Isolated from her mother, no father and no friends to speak of? It's no wonder she spent half her life in a fantasy world. It also explains why Cinderella was her absolute favourite." He glanced at Sho's confused face. "You don't understand? Cinderella was a girl who led a hard life, had nothing given to her and was forced to make do on whatever scraps she could manage to gather, who worked hard every day without anything to show for it. Did you ever notice how hard Kyoko worked to please others? To learn the skills that would make your parents happy? To live up to her mother's unrealistic expectations? And all the while, the damsel in distress searched for the knight's hand that would lift her into a better life. What she found was you. So she moulded herself a personality based on your needs, made certain you only saw her smiling face, kept secrets from such an early age, how could you possibly say you knew her best?"

"I can still be a knight and rescue her!" Sho snapped "I can be her Lancelot!"

"How interesting that you choose Lancelot." Ren chuckled. Fuwa hadn't even noticed his demotion from prince to mere knight."The public adored his acts of bravery, women sighed over his image, though in reality he betrayed king and country because he lusted after a married woman." His voice hardened. "You took a girl so desperate not to be left alone, offered her the dream she's always wanted, used her, then threw her away the moment she was no longer useful to you."

"It... it wasn't like that..."

"What did you get her for her birthday?" Sho looked startled by the abrupt change in topic. "Not her seventeenth birthday," Ren waved his hand dismissively "I understand you were fighting then. But on her sixteenth birthday, the two of you were living alone for the first time. Surely you must have come up with something special." Sho looked guilty. "Ah, so you forgot. Understandable, really, as there's never any clue that it's the Christmas season—"

"It wasn't like that!" Sho interrupted angrily "We didn't have the money then to spend on useless extras!"

"So you at least wished her Happy Birthday." Sho's mouth shut with an audible click. "I see. And your birthday was skipped too?" Now Sho looked positively ill as he refused to meet Ren's gaze. "Don't bother trying to rescue Kyoko. Not only is she doing an excellent job of rescuing herself, but she's happiest when she's forgotten you entirely."

Ren pushed himself off the wall and took a few steps back towards the party. "A bit of friendly advice, before I go." He said, his back to Sho. "You might want to work on your 'Fuwa Sho' mask. It cracks under the slightest pressure."

"And what would you know about masks?"

Ren turned around, blocking Sho from view of the other guests before letting his mask slide off, his face becoming that of a night-stalking predator with a fierce possessiveness shining through his eyes. His voice was pure acid as he spoke. "Don't believe you're the only one in this business who wears masks." Sho's eyes were wide as saucers as he pressed himself against the wall, as if in some vain hope he could escape by passing through it.

Then, suddenly, the 'Tsuraga Ren' mask was back, gentlemanly smile firmly in place as he turned back to the crowd. Walking away he raised his glass to the musician in mock salute.

"Enjoy your evening, Lancelot. Polish your armour and collect the favours of fair maidens, just remember you'll always be trumped by royalty."

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Author's note:

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I was going to release this after the Valentine arc ended, just in case, then figured what the heck. It's fanfiction for a reason.

I've always thought Sho needed a good smack upside the head. I also believe that, without interruptions, Ren could lead a conversation any direction he wanted, just like he leads other actors through a scene. Even so, this was a very difficult conversation to write. And I hope no-one's too mad that I wrote an entire chapter where they just stood there. And Ren truly is royalty, both by being 'Fairy Prince Corn' and by having royally famous parents.

Coming next is Saena.


	3. The Wicked Mother

**The Wicked Mother**

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The plan had been perfect.

Sure, most girls joined prestigious companies in hopes of snagging a rich husband, whelping a couple brats and spending the rest of their life in luxury, but not Saena. True, she did become a legal secretary at the largest law firm in Kyoto purely for its rich hunting grounds, and true, she fully intended to live her life at another's expense. But she had no intention of spending that life saddled with a man with more money than brains.

All she really needed... was a child.

It was almost too easy to find her prey. An overworked, married man with a tenuous grip on his reputation, one who spent more time at the office than at home, and preferably one with a wife chosen solely for business connections. An affair was lovely blackmail material, and an illegitimate child could destroy him. And oh, how he would dig into his pockets to buy her silence.

But her chosen hunting grounds were more than what she expected, because instead of finding the man she was looking for, Saena found five. She decided to take them all.

And why not? In a company where your success depends highly on your reputation, something as damning as an affair would hardly be a topic of idle chatter. And when the child came they could hardly ask for a paternity test, such a thing was as good as a written confession of infidelity, grounds of being dismissed from the powerful families they had married into.

The trap was set, and Saena was the bait.

Late night meetings, an alluring scent following her as she passed our briefs. Offers to go over legal drafts over coffee, running her pen thoughtfully over her bottom lip. Dropping off paperwork that had been forgotten at the office, fingers brushing as she handed over the file. Small talk in private rooms waiting for clients to show up, knees brushing. The boon of the occasional business trip.

Saena got pregnant.

And as her belly swelled so did her purse, what with five fat wallets to dip into. Everything was going according to plan.

Until, on the afternoon of December 24th and a full week before expected, Saena went into labour. And as nurses fussed about her not a single thought of motherhood entered her mind. All she could do was stare at the horrid hospital gown she had been forced into and think longingly of the elegant dress she had meant to wear to the company Christmas party that night.

If Saena had made it to the party, things might have turned out different.

In a company where success depends on reputation, a single woman who steadfastly refused to name who was responsible for her condition was a bit of a scandal. Alcohol loosens tongues. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. By the time Kyoko's first cry rang through the night, all of Saena's careful plans had shattered.

When Saena returned to work, she found a most unexpected reception. The cold stares, the whispers. No one congratulated her. No one asked if it was a boy or a girl. Not even the 'fathers'. Word had spread too quickly for damage control. Saena was painted as a conniving gold digger who would say anything to get what she wanted. The men, of course, were entirely blameless. After all, so they claimed, none of them had ever slept with that woman, so how could she have the audacity to claim that they were _all_ the father? They all refused paternity tests, on the grounds that their reputations should not be challenged by the lies of some slut.

Saena was destroyed. The company arranged for a transfer to another department, a demotion really, so her presence would not offend the higher-ups. Now, instead of brushing elbows with handsome management, Saena did errands for other _female_ secretaries. Even her back-up plan of finding a well-off husband was shot to pieces. No potential mother-in-law would let their sons anywhere near her, saddled as she was with a child and a sour reputation.

Oh, how Saena hated her child. A smelly, wriggling thing that needed constant care. A living, breathing testimony to her failure. A diaper-clad anchor keeping her from getting on with her life. There was really only one solution.

The child would have to go.

So Saena went hunting for a new target. Something more long-term, and far more specific. Kyoko was three when Saena finally found what she wanted.

He was the taisho of a traditional inn, very young, and very married, with a son just about Kyoko's age. And though it ate into her savings more than she would have liked, Saena booked several retreats at the inn. It was only a matter of time until she was able to lure him into a compromising position. He was, after all, just another man.

This time her plan really was perfect. This time she was not looking for a child, but a place to dump the current one. A hidden camera and a few bottles of sake later and she had all the blackmail material she would ever need. After all, it was the taisho who kept the books. He would be the only one to know Saena wasn't paying for Kyoko to stay there.

A day here or there. Then a few days. Then a week. Two.

By the time Kyoko was in kindergarten she was spending more time at the inn than with her mother. All Saena really needed was to trot her out from time to time, show those snobs she worked with she was a proper mother, remind the fathers of her existence. If Kyoko could outshine their legitimate children, perhaps it wouldn't be a total failure. Perhaps Saena could still get something out of the whole fiasco. But she was never perfect, so Saena would send her back to the inn with the same amount of thought as someone tossing a spare button in the drawer.

Years passed.

Saena had long since accepted that none of the fathers would ever recognize Kyoko as their responsibility. She was just too plain, her grades less than stellar. No matter. She was already pressuring the taisho to back Kyoko as a bridal candidate for his only son. After all, an inn would be a very nice place for Saena to retire to.

Then that boy had to go and ruin all her carefully crafted plans, running off to Tokyo to become a singer, getting himself disowned in the process. Really. Even when they were young men still caused her problems. So when Kyoko followed him like some lost puppy, Saena decided to wash her hands of the entire matter, forget she even had a daughter and get on with her own life. She succeeded too.

Until the day a flamboyantly dressed man knocked at her door.

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Author's notes:

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Yes, I'm twisted. But think about it. No normal mother could hate their own child, unless that child represented some terrible experience. I didn't want to make Kyoko the product of a rape, so I made her a pawn. She said she didn't have a father, but didn't indicate that he had passed away, so he must be absent by choice. Also, how could Saena afford to have Kyoko live somewhere expensive when she herself lives in a modest apartment? I don't think Saena is an evil person, just look at the shot of her crying, so I wrote her as more self-absorbed. Though I did debate on having Kyoko being the child of Sho's father or uncle, but then that makes Kyoko's love for Sho a bit icky.

And yes, that was Lory at the end, but you'll have to wait for what I have planned.


	4. Gilbert

**Gilbert**

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"Moko is my absolute best friend" Kyoko stated emphatically. "She's like the Dianna to my Anne."

"Why am I Dianna?"

"Because Dianna's prettier than Anne, taller, has long dark hair and a natural elegance, and when they're standing together Dianna's the first one people notice."

"Fine, but you're definitely Anne." Moko crossed her arms. "A slightly strange girl with reddish hair who spends more time in la-la land than reality. You even live with your own Marilla and Matthew. I may be the first one people notice, but you're the one they can't forget."

Kyoko looked up with a starry expression as if she had just been paid the greatest compliment, and with a cry of "Moko!" she flung herself at her best friend in an attempt to hug her. An attempt that came to nothing as Moko deftly sidestepped.

"Kyoko-chan," Yashiro interrupted their exchange with a smile, gesturing to TBM cafeteria. "Is there something here you recommend?" He and Ren had run into the two girls while on the hunt for lunch. They hadn't been hard to spot in their vivid pink uniforms, sipping iced coffee while waiting for their orders.

"Oh! You have to try the okonomiyaki with the in-the-forest topping, it's not on the menu but it's really popular." Kyoko looked up at Yashiro's confused expression. "I'll come with you and order."

The two joined the lunch line, leaving Moko standing alone with Ren.

"So as she's Anne, I suppose that makes you Gilbert."

Ren nearly choked. "Excuse me?"

"Don't pretend you're not completely in love with her. I've had my suspicions, and Princess Rosa confirmed them. My only question is why you don't do more than drop the occasional hint? You have to know that anything less subtle than a sledgehammer isn't going to make it through to that girl."

"She's still in High School." Ren answered automatically, then cursed silently at himself. This wasn't Yashiro he was talking to!

"So?" Moko responded casually, either unconcerned or unaware of the prime piece of gossip he had just handed her.

"So I'm an adult, four years older than her, while she's still a child."

"Not so much a child as you might prefer to think, as she's been fully supporting herself since she was fifteen. Besides," Moko drawled before dropping the bombshell "the age difference doesn't seem to bother Hikaru-san."

Ren's head snapped around to stare fully at Moko for the first time during their little exchange. His startled glare was completely lost on her, as she was calmly poking at ice cubes in her drink with a straw. The slight upturn of her mouth, however, proved she wasn't so unconcerned with his response as she indicated. He waited, and waited, but with a sinking realization knew this was the end of the free information. If he wanted more, he would have to ask.

"Explain."

"Hmmm?" She blinked at him, all doe-eyed innocence. He wasn't buying it for a second.

"Who is Hikaru-san, and what is his relationship with Mogami-san?" Damn it! The little minx was making him sound like a jealous boyfriend, and she knew it!

"Oh, that. Well, there's not that much to tell." Moko replied dismissively "Just that he's the same age as you, a celebrity like you, and like you she sees him on a regular basis through work. But unlike you he's actively pursuing her attentions, asking her out to dinner every week or so. Who do you think first introduced her to in-the-forest topping?" No need to tell him that Kyoko had yet to actually accept an invitation, let him think otherwise. And judging by how tightly his jaw was clenched, he most certainly was.

Moko forced herself to keep a slightly superior look on her face, lest she grimace. It wasn't as if she actually wanted the two of them to get together, Kyoko was her best friend first, damn it! But Moko was a realist, and while the idea of sharing Kyoko's attentions left a sour taste in her mouth, she also saw the way men seemed to gravitate towards the oblivious girl. Fuwa and the Beagle were the most problematic, a brush with either of them left Kyoko out of sorts for days. While she held no hope of Hikaru being able to stand up to either troublemaker, Tsuraga had shown himself both able and more than willing to protect her. She just needed to make sure to keep him in 'guard' mode, and there was no better tool to do that than direct competition.

"I remember the relationship between Gilbert and Anne, and I also remember that not only was Gilbert not the first one to propose to Anne, but her first thought was to say yes. So it could have been a fluke that they ended up together at all."

Moko tossed her now-empty cup in the trash and walked away, deed done.

He'd be an excellent guard dog, so long as he never found that sledgehammer.

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Author's Note:

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I just know someone's going to ask me about the last word, and all I can say is reread the first half.

Don't believe me about Anne? Watch the second movie. The father of one of her students proposes, and Anne admits that for a few glorious seconds she thought she could say yes. As for the rest, well, you can see the parallels. Now all we need is for Kyoko to accidently get Moko drunk...


	5. Going on a Lion Hunt

"Bang bang!"

"Awww... big sis... they got away again..."

The staff at LME are generally used to strange behaviours and odd outfits, but this was new. As in president-is-not-involved new, or even insanity-is-contagious new.

Too much caffeine, not enough sleep, an energetic eight year old and unlimited access to one of the world's largest dress-up closets had truly spawned something... odd.

The three Love Me girls and the president's granddaughter were dressed for safari in all its kaki glory, pointing cocked fingers at random people and making 'bang bang' noises. When the prey didn't 'die' it was considered a missed shot, and a new target was chosen.

Odd. Even for LME.

Granted, only Maria and Kyoko were actually _playing_ the game, Moko looked more like she just happened to be nearby while wearing the same outfit, and Chiori followed in stunned silence.

Kyoko and Maria crept along the wall, surely they would succeed in taking down some big game. Most of the potential prey were now giving them a wide berth, but footsteps could be heard approaching from around the corner. Feral grins in place, the girls loaded their weapons, crouched down, and then launched their ambush...

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

...only to come face to face with a _very_ surprised Yashiro and Ren.

Ren blinked, a strange half smile ghosting across his face before he slumped against the wall and managed to 'die' convincingly.

"Waah! Big sis! Big sis! What do we do?"

"I don't know! Moko! Moko! We've killed Mr. Tsuraga!"

"Well," Moko deadpanned "I suppose you should hide the body."

"Right!" Ren was arranged on the floor so Kyoko and a still stunned Chiori could grab his legs and begin dragging him down the hallway. Who knows where they would have taken him if Ren hadn't started quivering with repressed laughter.

"He's moving! Why is he moving after he's dead? Big sis, Ren's been possessed, we have to perform an exorcism as soon as possible!"

"Don't be silly you two. It's obvious Yashiro number Two is finally emerging."

Yashiro levelled a glare at an unrepentant Moko. "Don't encourage them."

"Waah! Moko's right! Quick, to the vending machines!"

"Roger, big sis!"

"You people are insane! Why did I ever agree to be in this section!"

Which is how LME employees were treated to the sight of an all-female hunting party dragging superstar Tsuraga Ren through the lobby by his ankles.

Odd.

* * *

Author's notes:

Yes, I'm insane, but hopefully I made you giggle.

The title was inspired by two things, the first being (naturally) Reino's reference to Ren as a dangerous lion. the second, oddly enough, was from a camp song I remember as a child where the 'hunter' makes a massive trek only to flee home at the first sight of an actual lion. Mayhaps you've heard it.

Going on a lion hunt  
I'm not scared  
I've got my trusty gun  
and my teddy-bear by my side.


	6. Signature of Parent or Guardian

o-o-o** Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

Lory stared at the words on the page, or more importantly, the blank space underneath them.

o-o-o** Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

It had been a simple idea really. Or as simple as his ideas go.

His idea of a prize trip to Egypt had been thwarted in part by Kyoko's simple lack of a passport. Which also meant that all his grand ideas of what he could do with his first Love Me girl were bound by the shores of Japan.

And that simply would not do.

Lory, as his wardrobe would attest, was not a man bound by many things. Certainly not something as simple as a piece of paper.

So it was settled.

Kyoko was getting her passport.

But Mogami Kyoko was still a minor. But no problem there, as she had listed her mother's address on her application form. All it would take was a quick signature. He would just send Sebastian and –

_"She doesn't care where I am or what I'm doing. Do I still need her permission?"_

No.

This was something he couldn't delegate. He had to see with his own eyes what could be responsible for the naked pain he saw in Kyoko's face when she said those words.

Did they fight? Was that look simply the result of a childish misunderstanding blown way out of proportion? After all, Kyoko could be overly dramatic at times.

Lory grinned. Perhaps he could not only get Kyoko's passport sorted out, but reconcile mother and daughter!

o-o-o** Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

The trip itself was uneventful. He planned to be there and back within a few hours, after all, what else were private jets for? Ever reliable Sebastian had called ahead to arrange a meeting with one Mogami Saena at her home to discuss the future of her daughter. Lory was even showing up in one of his least flamboyant costumes of all. The Schoolteacher.

He knocked on her door, giddy as a boy on a blind date.

But the woman who answered could not have possibly been Kyoko's mother.

Oh for certain she was related to the girl, her cheekbones and the arch of her brows could have told him that much, and he would even believe she had physically given birth to Kyoko.

But Lory knew mothers. His mother. Friends who had become mothers. Actresses portraying mothers.

This was not a mother.

Still stunned, Lory followed Saena inside, and soon found himself sitting at her table for the traditional cup of tea.

What he noticed disturbed him.

There was no evidence at all of Kyoko's existence. No photos of her growing up. No slippers that would fit her feet. And most telling of all, no questions from Saena.

Is Kyoko okay? Where is she? How is she doing? Do you have her phone number? Will she be coming home soon?

Nothing.

_"She doesn't care..."_

It was Saena who broke the silence, calmly asking what business had brought him to this meeting.

Business.

Gone were Lory's exuberant praises of Kyoko, his embellished yet proud accountings of her adventures. All he could manage was to stammer out the basics, that Kyoko was his employee and he needed parental consent to get her a passport.

Saena was silent for a few moments, then excused herself from the room.

o-o-o **Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

It was a counter offer.

Rather than sign the passport application, Saena proposed signing over Kyoko's legal guardianship to Lory. For a fee of course. Her reason? So he wouldn't be troubled by coming over here next time he needed other paperwork signed.

To Lory's left was a written transfer of guardianship and a dollar amount less than what he paid for his last car. To his right was a plain brown folder containing Kyoko's life. Birth certificate. Health records. School photos. Report cards. It was like some twisted pedigree.

It reminded Lory too much of another situation, when he had purchased a puppy from a breeder.

It was then he realized the awful truth.

Saena was willing to sell her daughter to a virtual stranger, and wash her hands of being a mother.

o-o-o **Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

He didn't know how to tell Kyoko. She was standing in front of his desk with that perfect posture of hers, eyes bright and curious. But as he watched a little worried wrinkle appeared between her eyes, and she asked if he was all right. Apparently he'd been silent too long.

What a precious child. But what could he tell her? She couldn't possibly believe –

_"Even a parent can hate their own child"_

In the end, Lory didn't say anything. He just handed her the paper that awful woman had him sign.

He had thought he couldn't feel any worse. But watching her heart break as she read... He braced herself for the inevitable questions. Doesn't she love me? How could she do this? Why?

But Kyoko surprised him yet again. She asked if she could pay him back in instalments.

It was then he realized another awful truth.

That as sad as Kyoko was, she wasn't surprised.

o-o-o **Signature of Parent or Guardian **o-o-o

Lory signed his name below the now hated words with almost his usual flourish.

Then he grabbed his wastebasket and was promptly sick.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Author's note:

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Saena is the antithesis of Lory, a black hole to his love, and I often wondered how the two would interact. It was hard. I tried to get Lory and Saena to speak, oh I tried. But it just sounded so forced, so fake, and Lory kept going off on tangents so I decided nobody gets to speak, and I like it.

The sudden appearance of papers? Saena dresses like she works in an office, I'm sure she could whip something up. Oh, and Egypt? Chapter 170.


End file.
